Lake County Sheriff's office

Central Florida Woman Attacked by 81-Year-Old Home Intruder She Once Dated

What to Know

  • Cheryl Grech said that the man, Derek Britton, has been sending her threatening letters along with spray painting her Clermont home.
  • Grech says she went outside to take a picture of the crimes being committed when the two got into an altercation.

A Central Florida woman says she was attacked by a masked man caught on camera defacing her home – who is also an 81-year-old man she broke up with last year.

Cheryl Grech told NBC affiliate WESH-TV that the man, Derek Britton, has been sending her threatening letters along with spray painting her Clermont home, placing water in her gas tank and other crimes.

Police continued to tell Grech that she would need to catch the crimes as they were being committed – so she installed a surveillance camera and captured Britton at her home Tuesday night attempting to spray paint her front window and the camera.

Grech says she went outside to take a picture of the crimes being committed when the two got into an altercation, leaving the woman with a black eye and scape on her face. Grech and a neighbor held Britton down until Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived.

Britton, who was served an injunction last month to stay away from his ex, faces multiple charges including aggravated stalking and simple battery.

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